Ron J. Lesthaeghe is professor emeritus at Free University of Brussels. He is considered one of the best international demography researchers. Together with Dirk J. van de Kaa, he devised the Second Demographic Transition, a theory explaining the demographic changes in advanced societies.

Andreas Züttel is a leader in research on renewable energy, particularly on hydrogen storage. Among many other prominent positions in the field, he is Head of the &quot;Hydrogen &amp; Energy&quot; Section at the Swiss National Institute for Materials Research and Testing, EMPA, and of the Metalhydride and Energy Storage Group of the Physics Department of University of Fribourg, where he is also lecturer.

James J. Heckman, Nobel Prize in Economics in 2000, specialized in economics of health, education and the family, has laid the groundwork for a scientific evaluation of economical policy. He is acknowledged by his models, theoretical and empirical, of human development, and acquisition of capacities along the life cycle.